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About me

Hi, I'm Patrick and I study Medicine at Bristol and I tutor Biology (GCSE+ A Level), Chemistry (GCSE) and mentor for getting in to medical school.

I took varied subjects at A level, including Maths, Chemistry, Biology and English Lit/Lang and I was awarded the Millennium Award at my school for achieving the highest AS grades. Medicine, at Bristol, is made up of a highly scientific first two years so my area of expertise would be anything in the scientific field, especially Biology.

I have tutored before at school and at a voluntary association called IntoUniversity where I was coached on techniques to use and I believe I really made a difference with a lot of the children I tutored.

My school was not brilliant so for A levels I found myself teaching myself, and a lot of the others in my class. It was there I really got to grips with the importance of exam technique and the exam specification.

With me you will gain an experienced tutor with meticulous detail to ensure your child gains the best grades they can!

Patrick Quinn :)

Hi, I'm Patrick and I study Medicine at Bristol and I tutor Biology (GCSE+ A Level), Chemistry (GCSE) and mentor for getting in to medical school.

I took varied subjects at A level, including Maths, Chemistry, Biology and English Lit/Lang and I was awarded the Millennium Award at my school for achieving the highest AS grades. Medicine, at Bristol, is made up of a highly scientific first two years so my area of expertise would be anything in the scientific field, especially Biology.

I have tutored before at school and at a voluntary association called IntoUniversity where I was coached on techniques to use and I believe I really made a difference with a lot of the children I tutored.

My school was not brilliant so for A levels I found myself teaching myself, and a lot of the others in my class. It was there I really got to grips with the importance of exam technique and the exam specification.

With me you will gain an experienced tutor with meticulous detail to ensure your child gains the best grades they can!

Subjects offered

Questions Patrick has answered

How can I help you get in to medical school?

I recently got in to medical school and I know how hard it is. Taking Bristol med school, for example, there were around 4,500 applicants but only 220-or-so places; it is intensely competitive.

I did not go to a very supportive school so I had to find out a lot of the stuff myself- my own A level biology teacher had never even heard of the UKCAT! So I've become a bit of an expert in what universities look for in students.

There are many aspects to a medicine application, from grades to volunteering to admissions tests and it can be somewhat confusing if you are unsure of it all. That is where I come in. I achieved a score of 733 on the UKCAT, ranking in the top 18% of candidates for my year. On top of that I had 3 interviews for 3 different medical schools and achieved offers from all 3. Each of the interviews had a different format: MMI at Bristol; Traditional at Cardiff; Mixed at Exeter. This gives me a unique insight into all the different types of interviews you could have. I do not wish to come across as arrogant; I merely want you to know that I am qualified to help you succeed in getting in to medical school.

Many people will tell you that you cannot prepare for admissions tests or interviews but in my opinion they are completely wrong. Sure, you need to be an empathetic and driven person but what separates those who are in medical school and those who failed to get in is often adequate preparation.

I recently got in to medical school and I know how hard it is. Taking Bristol med school, for example, there were around 4,500 applicants but only 220-or-so places; it is intensely competitive.

I did not go to a very supportive school so I had to find out a lot of the stuff myself- my own A level biology teacher had never even heard of the UKCAT! So I've become a bit of an expert in what universities look for in students.

There are many aspects to a medicine application, from grades to volunteering to admissions tests and it can be somewhat confusing if you are unsure of it all. That is where I come in. I achieved a score of 733 on the UKCAT, ranking in the top 18% of candidates for my year. On top of that I had 3 interviews for 3 different medical schools and achieved offers from all 3. Each of the interviews had a different format: MMI at Bristol; Traditional at Cardiff; Mixed at Exeter. This gives me a unique insight into all the different types of interviews you could have. I do not wish to come across as arrogant; I merely want you to know that I am qualified to help you succeed in getting in to medical school.

Many people will tell you that you cannot prepare for admissions tests or interviews but in my opinion they are completely wrong. Sure, you need to be an empathetic and driven person but what separates those who are in medical school and those who failed to get in is often adequate preparation.

I'm doing GCSEs, isn't it too early to be thinking about applying for medicine?

Simply, no.

Whilst it is imperative to keep an open mind when it comes to what degree you wish to study in university medicine often differs from other subjects. Although many subjects are very difficult to study in university, medicine requires long-term commitment. Even if you do change your mind about what subject you wish to study in university, work experience and excellent grades will only benefit you.

I often think of the medical application process like spinning plates. One plate is your GCSE results, whilst they are extremely important they are not the only factor to be worrying about. Another plate will be work experience. Another voluntary work, and don't forget about A levels, BMAT, UKCAT and all the interviews! The hard thing is that you can't drop any of the plates if you wish to succeed.

This does seem rather daunting, I know it did for me but the key is to have a good idea of what is required and when you need to do it. For example, what GCSEs are ideal for medicine is key as a first step. The answer to this is really any which you enjoy. Most universities do not discriminate on what subjects you do at GCSE, as long as you get the right grades. This brings me on to talk about how important GCSEs are.

This may be harsh but you need to be realistic. Over 80% of medical students in my year (Bristol) achieved 7A* or more at GCSE. Aside from that, 100% of my colleagues took part in some form of volunteering and/or work experience. It is never to early to start planning!

Simply, no.

Whilst it is imperative to keep an open mind when it comes to what degree you wish to study in university medicine often differs from other subjects. Although many subjects are very difficult to study in university, medicine requires long-term commitment. Even if you do change your mind about what subject you wish to study in university, work experience and excellent grades will only benefit you.

I often think of the medical application process like spinning plates. One plate is your GCSE results, whilst they are extremely important they are not the only factor to be worrying about. Another plate will be work experience. Another voluntary work, and don't forget about A levels, BMAT, UKCAT and all the interviews! The hard thing is that you can't drop any of the plates if you wish to succeed.

This does seem rather daunting, I know it did for me but the key is to have a good idea of what is required and when you need to do it. For example, what GCSEs are ideal for medicine is key as a first step. The answer to this is really any which you enjoy. Most universities do not discriminate on what subjects you do at GCSE, as long as you get the right grades. This brings me on to talk about how important GCSEs are.

This may be harsh but you need to be realistic. Over 80% of medical students in my year (Bristol) achieved 7A* or more at GCSE. Aside from that, 100% of my colleagues took part in some form of volunteering and/or work experience. It is never to early to start planning!

So, what actually is a mole?

A mole is simply a unit of measurement of any substance that contains as many atoms as there are in 12 grams of Carbon-12.

Why Carbon-12?

Carbon-12 is the standard by which we compare the mass of any other molecule however; it was not the first option. Originally Hydrogen-1 was used but this was soon discarded as they realized that because of its low mass it was very inaccurate. This is because Hydrogen-1 had a mass of 1.007825- you can imagine how hard it would be to calculate precisely every time! Whereas, Carbon-12 has a mass of 12.000000 so this allows for more precise answers when working out the mass of other molecules.

A mole is simply a unit of measurement of any substance that contains as many atoms as there are in 12 grams of Carbon-12.

Why Carbon-12?

Carbon-12 is the standard by which we compare the mass of any other molecule however; it was not the first option. Originally Hydrogen-1 was used but this was soon discarded as they realized that because of its low mass it was very inaccurate. This is because Hydrogen-1 had a mass of 1.007825- you can imagine how hard it would be to calculate precisely every time! Whereas, Carbon-12 has a mass of 12.000000 so this allows for more precise answers when working out the mass of other molecules.

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